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More than 300,000 adults took part in a national survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Analysis of the survey information found that, compared with lifetime non-drinkers, being a light or moderate drinker was associated with a reduced risk of death from all causes. The protective effect of light to moderate drinking was more pronounced in women, middle-aged and older people and non-Hispanic whites. In contrast, there was a significantly higher risk of death from all causes and cancer in particular among heavy drinkers.

“When health care professionals make recommendations on drinking for individuals or groups of people, they should be mindful of the balance between the protective and harmful health effects of lightly or moderately drinking alcohol,” said senior author S. Phani Veeranki, UTMB assistant professor of epidemiology in the department of preventive medicine and community health. “On the other hand, heavy drinkers should be reminded that drinking is harmful to their health.”

In the survey, participants reported their drinking habits, health information, smoking status and demographics. Data from 1997 to 2009 was cross-referenced with the National Death Index records through 2011. The participants were followed-up with periodic surveys for an average of 8 years, after which 34,754 participants had died.

The National Health Interview Survey was administered by the National Center for Health Statistics of the CDC.

Other authors of the study include Bo Xi, Min Zhao and Chuanwei Ma from Shandong University, Jinan, China as well as Yinkun Yan and Jie Mi from the Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, China.

Article written by Raul Reyes

Raul Reyes, director of media relations at UTMB, has an extensive background in communications with more than 30 years experience in journalism. Before joining UTMB in 2007, he was an editor at The New York Times and also worked as an editor at the Dallas Morning News and the San Antonio Express-News. When he and his wife, Linda, worked at the Houston Chronicle in the 1980s, they used to dream about living and working in Galveston. Some things do come true. Raul is at UTMB and Linda edits a couple of Dallas magazines from their home in Galveston.